REEF TANK = NEVER ENJOY A VACATION AGAIN???

[Klyle]

We went out of state this weekend, for Easter. Water change, check. skimmer cup cleaned, check. ATO filled up, check. What could go wrong? Certainly not another heater malfunction. Thanks to Inkbird and my neighbor, I already averted that crisis. I asked the same neighbor to stop by once on Saturday and once on Sunday for a quick feeding, as I would return Sunday evening. Well, this morning I got a phone call around 11am. He had been trying to call me since 9, but I had my ringer turned off. Apparently my ATO stopped working and my return pump was running dry. Thankfully he knows enough about my setup and was able to scoop some water from the ATO res to fill up my return chamber. Everything is good now, right? WRONG! I started dosing kalk through my ATO a few weeks ago...panic mode! At this point, he is out of town doing the Easter thing. I'm in the middle of Iowa, doing the Easter thing / reef tank, freak-out. Well, I made it home a couple hours ago. Return chamber almost dry again, bubbles in the dt. Everything still alive and thriving, but dang! I did install a pH controller when I starting dosing kalk and it was turned off. It's the Milwaukee mc122 with the giant, red power button on the front...and it was switched to off. I'm to the point where I'm either giving up on vacations or reef tanks. (Vacations) It seems no matter how much planning goes into my out of town trips, something always goes wrong! It's like, if Charlie brown set up a reef tank.

 

[TerraFerma]

What ATO you use? I'd never leave town unless I was running the Tunze 3155

 

[Klyle]

Tunze 3155. The pH controller was turned off, hence no 3155!

 

[PeterC99]

You are wiser for the experience!

You will be able to go on vacation again because of an inexpensive Wyze internet wireless camera and an Neptune Apex System. Little bit of an investment with the Apex but incredible peace of mind when you are away and instant notification if something goes wrong.

 

[ZoWhat]

Apex

A GREAT AQUARIUM JUST GOT EASIER. Tell someone you own a saltwater aquarium you will usually hear this: “Aren’t those things hard to take care of ?” or “I had one once and everything died when…” Sadly, the real pleasures of an aquarium are often overridden by the struggle of upkeep. Worse yet...

www.neptunesystems.com

In 17yrs of reefing, the absolute best thing I've ever bought....hands down

 

[Aardvark1134]

My last tank only needed a friend or relative to come over 2x a day, get a zip lock bag out of the freezer and dump the contents in the tank. The rest can take care of it's self for a week without issue if you build with a vacation in mind.

 

[Klyle]

You are wiser for the experience!

You will be able to go on vacation again because of an inexpensive Wyze internet wireless camera and an Neptune Apex System. Little bit of an investment with the Apex but incredible peace of mind when you are away and instant notification if something goes wrong.

I'm not knocking Apex, I know it would be a good investment, as I already have a Seneye. But the day they make a little, Italian plumber wearing a red hat that jumps out and fixes leaks and plugs in ATOs and stuff...I will buy one that day!

 

[Klyle]

I'm not knocking Apex, I know it would be a good investment, as I already have a Seneye. But the day they make a little, Italian plumber wearing a red hat that jumps out and fixes leaks and plugs in ATOs and stuff...I will buy one that day!

Gonna look into that camera though!

 

[MarkyMark_]

My last tank only needed a friend or relative to come over 2x a day, get a zip lock bag out of the freezer and dump the contents in the tank. The rest can take care of it's self for a week without issue if you build with a vacation in mind.

someone had to come over "only" twice a day??

 

[Aardvark1134]

There were already there 2x a day to feed my cats so they are coming 2x a day with or without fish. Plus I have several family members less than 2 miles away. If you can't get someone to feed your pets 2x a day for 1 week, you need new friends and family lol

 

[Klyle]

My last tank only needed a friend or relative to come over 2x a day, get a zip lock bag out of the freezer and dump the contents in the tank. The rest can take care of it's self for a week without issue if you build with a

There were already there 2x a day to feed my cats so they are coming 2x a day with or without fish. Plus I have several family members less than 2 miles away.

Technically I could have put my auto feeder on the tank and it will run itself for 5-7 days depending on evaporation. It does so all the time. It's only when I go out of town it seems something always happens. An Apex would not have fixed my broken heater last Christmas! But yes, it is nice having someone to count on in an emergency!

 

[PeterC99]

I'm not knocking Apex, I know it would be a good investment, as I already have a Seneye. But the day they make a little, Italian plumber wearing a red hat that jumps out and fixes leaks and plugs in ATOs and stuff...I will buy one that day!

Two considerations

1) How much do you have invested in your livestock?

2) How worried are you going to be next time you leave your aquarium for a vacation? Will you lose sleep?

 

[ZoWhat]

 

[Klyle]

At this point I'm way more invested in equipment than livestock, however I do not consider my fish expendable. They are an emotional investment. And yes, I will most likely lose sleep worrying. Especially after this incident! Apex will be my next big investment but I'm probably already 8 g's and 16 months into this 40 breeder so according to my gf I'm not allowed anymore big purchases this year! Haha yeah right!

 

[Klyle]

I'll give this a gander but I can't imagine it's anymore reliable than the Tunze 3155...my ATO was not the issue, it was whatever ****** turned off the pH controller! (Possibly myself)

 

[mehaffydr]

I have an Apex I use the Apex Auto feeder when I leave town and I use the Apex ATK and i dose with the DOS. But I also have redundant backups.
1. I have a mechanical ATO that use siphon nothing electrical No sensors.
2. I have multiple heaters not just one but 3 total.

I love the ability to look at my phone and see things are running smooth.

That all being said it also seems that either you have a lot of evaporation maybe need to cover something. Or you have a very small sump with a very small return chamber if your running dry that fast. I could have No topoff at all for at least a week before water level would be a problem at the return pump. Now salinity would go up which I would see on my Apex but I would have water circulating.

 

[Klyle]

I have an Apex I use the Apex Auto feeder when I leave town and I use the Apex ATK and i dose with the DOS. But I also have redundant backups.
1. I have a mechanical ATO that use siphon nothing electrical No sensors.
2. I have multiple heaters not just one but 3 total.

I love the ability to look at my phone and see things are running smooth.

That all being said it also seems that either you have a lot of evaporation maybe need to cover something. Or you have a very small sump with a very small return chamber if your running dry that fast. I could have No topoff at all for at least a week before water level would be a problem at the return pump. Now salinity would go up which I would see on my Apex but I would have water circulating.

I'm running a trigger saphire 34 on my 40b...decent size return chamber, way overkill for my tank size! Literally 1/4" clearance both front to back and side to side of my stand, but that's another issue entirely! On average, 5g will last about 5-7 days on my tank. I keep tons of flow in my sump, except for the middle section with my bio media. I agree with u, I should get some covers on that thing! I'm sucking air within a half a day of my ATO loosing power. ie: forgot to plug back in after wc

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Sorry you have to go through that. It’s a very frustrating part about this hobby. I have an apex with a trident and a system that I rarely have to touch, even when I am home, but It’s really been hitting me lately about how locked in I am at home with this hobby. I’d love to travel for extended periods and work from other cities but it’s so tough to trust being away from my tank.

 

[Michael Gray]

I'm in your boat as I'm scared as heck. I got a texas 10 day trip coming up in may. Fish don't eat pellets. So combo of my father, co worker and friend splitting the days. They gotta feed tank 3 times a day and swap filter sock and dose my zeo stuff every day.

I'm in full panic mode

 

[Brian_68]

Fish will do fine for a week plus being fed once daily or even every other day or so. No need to worry about getting someone to stop over multiple times per day in my opinion. Buy a camera, and have someone stop by every other day and enjoy your vacation.